Rosebank: Rishi Sunak shown shaking oil-covered hand in guerrilla ad campaign in London

Guerilla advertisements showing prime minister Rishi Sunak shaking a hand dripping in oil have been put up in locations across London, in protest over the Rosebank oil field.

Run by the environmental campaign group Fossil Free London, the ads are accompanied by a Conservative logo and text saying: “A helping hand for those in need: £3.75bn public money to oil company Equinor if Rosebank oil field goes ahead.”

The campaign has been rolled out following Mr Sunak’s announcement in July that “hundreds” of new oil and gas licences will be granted in the North Sea, with the ads spotted in boroughs including Hackney, Southwark and Tower Hamlets.

A spokesperson for Fossil Free London told LondonWorld the campaign is to continue ramping up over the next few weeks due to rumours the Rosebank oilfield, which is estimated to produce more carbon dioxide emissions than the 28 lowest income countries in the world combined, will be approved once parliament returns from recess.

Joanna Warrington, a spokesperson for Fossil Free London, said: “Rosebank would be a double disaster. It would cost us, the UK taxpayers, billions of pounds, while doing absolutely nothing to bring down our energy bills and the soaring cost of living. With winter around the corner, things are only set to get worse even as the super profits for oil and gas giants are set to rise.

“We need immediate action to tackle the climate crisis. By agreeing to grant over a hundred new oil and gas licences, Sunak and his big oil buddies are signing our collective death warrants – all whilst pocketing profits for themselves.

“Climate change is already here. We have seen wildfires, flooding, people fleeing their homes. This will get worse and worse, unless we stop new oil and gas. There can be no compromise, no halfway measure, because the climate crisis will not compromise for us.”

A separate campaign group, Global Witness, ran a series of ads last month raising awareness of BP chief executive Bernard Looney’s “bulging” pay increase during the cost-of-living crisis.

Alice Harrison, fossil fuels campaign leader at Global Witness, said: “BP’s CEO saw his pay packet bulge, whilst the rest of us were plunged into a deep and damaging cost-of-living crisis – that’s something we really aren’t fans of.

“Although light-hearted in nature, our action today is intended to highlight the very serious issue of an energy system that pays out to polluters and penalises ordinary people.”

Announcing plans for hundreds of new oil and gas licences last month, Mr Sunak said: “We have all witnessed how Putin has manipulated and weaponised energy – disrupting supply and stalling growth in countries around the world.

“Now more than ever, it’s vital that we bolster our energy security and capitalise on that independence to deliver more affordable, clean energy to British homes and businesses.

“Even when we’ve reached net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will come from oil and gas. But there are those who would rather that it come from hostile states than from the supplies we have here at home.

“We’re choosing to power up Britain from Britain and invest in crucial industries such as carbon capture and storage, rather than depend on more carbon intensive gas imports from overseas – which will support thousands of skilled jobs, unlock further opportunities for green technologies and grow the economy.”